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Last year I made some
strawberry jam
that I really enjoyed. With all of the fresh strawberries around I wanted to make some more but I still had some left from last year. Since I really like the strawberry and rhubarb combination I decided to make some strawberry and rhubarb jam this year. The jam was easy to make, I just followed the instructions in the pectin crystal package. One thing to remember when making jam on the stove is to use a really large pot. The jam expands when it reaches a hard boil and you don't want if spilling over the sides. Of course I could not help myself and I opened up a jar of the jam right away to try. The strawberry and rhubarb jam turned out really good! The tartness of the rhubarb balanced out the sweetness of what otherwise would have been a sweet strawberry jam.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam

ingredients

2 cups strawberries (hulled and crushed)

2 cups rhubarb (chopped)

1 box Certo pectin crystals

5 1/2 cups sugar

directions

Bring the strawberries, rhubarb and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.

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comments:

This sounds great; I have some rhubarb and some strawberries at home right now. I've been meaning to make some rhubarb chutney this weekend and I could make this as well, somehow rhubarb jam by itself is not all that good, but some strawberries and rhubarb would probably be really good together.

I make homemade peach jam. Even using craptastic frozen peaches, it has a marvelous flavor! Strawberry jam is a likely next candidate, given our haul on Wednesday. And I tried your strawberry sour cream bread, and credited you for it, because that was awesome, too. Strawberries are the best thing, right now!

When you start adding rhubarb, lemon, anything tart with a lot of natural pectin, you will find that your jams or jellies will set up much more readily.

I suspect last year that your strawberries were quite ripe and it does not sound like you added any additional lemon juice or whatever so then sometimes there is a problem with the jelly or jam setting properly.

You would be able to make a natural strawberry and rhubarb jam, or a pure raspeberry or currant, blueberry with lemon or rhubarb without even using the store bought pectin.

If you want to get into more jam making just using fruits and sugar, Bernardin puts out some great books and you could find info on the net too.

Another thing you could experiment with is making freezer jam. It really holds the natural color and flavor. You would use bought packets, probably they have pectin in them. These packets for making freezer jams are kept right where you are buying your certo etc.

I made strawberry rhubarb jam with cardamom for the first time a few months ago with last year's frozen crop. It was amazing! I don't use pectin and just cook it until it's good and jammy and use a cold plate (from the freezer) to see if it has set. I've been putting a spoon of it on greek yogurt (Fage brand) with a bit of granola and it rocks! Looking forward to making more now that the Oregon strawberries are coming into season. I also made strawberry balsamic jam that was really good. But, the combo of rhubarb, strawberry and cardamom can't be beat!

Nicole: I really like the sound of the strawberry rhubarb and cardamom jam. I just saw the first of the strawberries at the farmers market on the weekend so next weekend or the weekend after they should be selling them by the flat on the cheap. I am looking forward to them.

I also enjoy adding a spoonful of homemade jam to plain yogurt for breakfasts!

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I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.